Wall tile



Dec. 29, 1959 FARINA 1 2,918,814

WALL TILE Filed Jan.v 3, 1956 2 Shets-Sheec 1 INVENTOR 3/ 30 Mz'cizaeZFarina ATTORNEY INVENTOR ,rzm

@QQQ SQ 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WALL TILE M. FARINA Dec. 29, 1959 Filed Jan. 5,1956 Haw/Q ATTORNEY nited States Patent I 2,9|8,8l4 WALL TILE MichaelFarina, New York, N.Y. Application January 3, 1956, Serial No. 557,132 1Claim. (Cl. 72-20) The present inventionrelates to a wall facing system,and it particularly relates to a facing system which may be appliedeither exteriorly or interiorly to brick, cinder block or other blocktype walls. I p

-Although the present invention has'broad application to facingsystemswhere ornamental facing plates, particularlyimolded, cast orsynthetic plastic ceramics or plastic material is applied to brick orcinder block walls, it is to be understood that it'alsov has an evenbroader application to the use of such a facing system upon stuccowalls, plywood panels and even cardboard or beaverboard walls. However,the present invention will be particularly described in its applicationto cinder block or brick walls which are to receive ornamental facings.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simple,durable, readily applied facing system for brick or cinder block wallswhich may be readily constructed by mass production methods at low cost,and in which the facing materials may be readily applied as the wall isconstructed, without skilled labor and without increased cost.

Another object is to provide anovel facing system for brick and cinderblock walls in which the pre-assembled facing units may be prepared inadvance, ready for assembly to the walls as they are constructed togive'a desirable facing or ornamental surface effect thereto.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detaileddescription set forth below, it being understood, however, that thismore detailed description is given by way of illustration andexplanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changestherein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present invention. 7 In accomplishing theabove objectsaccording to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the facing material, whether it be plastic or 'of a syntheticceramic cast or molded material, is formed in plates corresponding tothe facing area or a'multiple of the facing area of the cinder block orbrick to which it may be applied.

In the preferred form of theinvention a series of tabs, desirably of ametal material such as sheet steel or, if desired, non-corrosivematerials such as stainless steel or sheet aluminum may be incorporatedinto the body of the facing slab or plate.

The extensions of the metal members are desirably formed so that theymay engage the mortar or other joints between the bricks, blocks orother elements forming the basic wall structure.

If desired the tabs may be so shaped or formed as to enable insertion inthe mortar joints or they may be turned so that they will serve aspenetrating attachments to a wall board type of construction.Furthermore, the tabs may be provided with nail or screw openings sothat there can be direct attachment of the facing tiles or plates to awooden or other penetrable wall construction.

The important feature of the present invention is that the metalreinforcements or connection tabs in the body of the facing plate are soconstructed that they may either be inserted directly into the mortarjoints or into the penetrable wood, paper or composition walls, or sothat they may be nailed into position if desired.

As an alternative form of the invention the various facing panels orplates may overlap or have shouldered or groove. connections so as togive a-weathertight and raintight facing which will reject water andcause it to discharge or fall off the face of the building, particularlywhere the facing tiles or plates are used as part of an exteriortreatment.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the in vention consists ofthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts ashereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention,but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modificationscan be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claim hereuntoappended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of the rear of a facing tile or plateconstruction, according to the present invention, with the tile partlybroken away to see the interior reinforcement and connection tabs to beused, particularly for application to mortar joints between cinderblocks or bricks forming a wall.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line 2-2 of Fig.1 upon'a slightly enlarged scale as comf pared to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse horizontal sectional view upon the line 3-3 ofFig. 1, upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side perspective view of an alternative form of reinforcingand attachment metal tab construction.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the reinforcement and connection tabarrangement of Fig. 4 as it is assembled for insertion in a facing tileor plate. 7

Fig. 6 is a rear inside elevational view taken upon the line 6-6 of Fig.7 showing the manner of attachment of an alternative form of the presentinvention to a frame construction to form a Wall covering.

Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line 77 of Fig.6.

Fig. 8 is a side perspective view of one of the reenforcement bracketsremoved from the structure of Figs. 6 and 7.

Fig. 9 is a side perspective view of still another embodimentillustrating how the brackets of the present invention may be utilizedfor assembling the wall construction.

Referring to the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 3, there is shown awall-facing slab, panel or plate A having the reinforcement elements Band C to be cast or molded therein, which elements have the engagementtabs D and E.

The material of the slab A may consist of a molded" or cast plastic orceramic material or it may be of other synthetic materials which willpresent an attractive, weatherproof and water-proof facing to brick,cinder block or even to wood or composition board walls, whether they beexteriorly faced or interiorly faced.

Normally the brackets B and C are joined together as indicated by therivet or screw connections 10 at their crossing points 11, and theyconsist of long strips 12 and 13 which are positioned in the form forcasting the tiles or plates A.

These strips 12 and 13 are provided with intermediate openings 14 and15, in which and through which the plastic material may lodge and passduring the casting, operation. The strips are provided with downwardlyprojecting tabs 16 and 17, stamped out of the body thereof, which willact as spacers to hold the brackets B and C above the bottom of the moldor form and permit the plastic material to surround and completelyencase brack-.

ets B and C.

The upturned legs D and E which serve for attachment purposes, and whichare inserted in the soft mortar between the-bricks or cinder blocks ofthe wall, are also Patented Dec. 29, 1959 3 provided with outwardlyextending tabs 18 and 19. These tabs 18 and 19 space the bracket systemB and C from the side walls of the mold or form, and make certain thatthe bracket system B and C will be completely concealed from the surfaceof the tile, which is indicated by the downwardly directed arrow F inFigs. 1 and 2.

The tabs D and E are also desirably provided with openings 20 and 21which will enhance the engagement with the soft mortar between thebricks or cinder blocks, and at the same time the rounded contour of thetabs D and E, with the concave portions extending inwardly greatlyenhances the firmness of the connection of the facing tiles or plates Ato the mortar structure.

Although two U-shaped short brackets C are shown and one long bracket B,it is obvious that these brackets may be varied and a larger or smallernumber may be utilized and the entire bracket structure may be stampedout of a sheet of metal if desired.

The projecting tabs or prongs having pointed ends as indicated at 22 and23 may not only be inserted in mortar but actually might be insertedinto composition or wood wall constructions. For this purpose the points22 and 23 may be sharpened so that they will actually serve as a form ofnail so that they may be driven directly into the soft wall structure.

In the embodiment of Figs. 4 and a double U or continuous l-shapedre-enforcement structure is em ployed. This structure may consist of aseries of inwardly directed flat V members 30 which are imbedded in theplate or tile A of Figs. 1 and 2, and which are joined by the openings31 and the rivets 32 to an opposite series of continuous Vs or Welements.

The base portions 30 are molded in the tile or blocks A and they may beprovided with tabs such as 1.7 and 19 to correctly space them from theside walls and bottom walls of the mold.

The upstanding V-shaped members 32 will project in teriorly of theinside of the tile as for example by the tabs D and E of Fig. 1. Thesewill have recesses 33 with corrugated or notched edges 34 to form abetter junction in the mortar wall.

Various other shapes and forms of brackets may be used instead of the Wor V shapes, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, and instead of theinterlocked, inverted U shapes as indicated in Figs. 1 to 3.

In the form of the invention, as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the bracketG may consist of a strip of metal 40 having the large, punched-outopenings 41 to enable better attachment to the plastic or ceramicforming the tile or plate, and it may also be provided with a series ofsmaller openings 42 to receive nail or screw attachments.

The ends of the strip G are turned at 90 as indicated at 43 and 44 andthen may be turned again at 90 as indicated at 45 and 46 to form the endtabs 47 and The end tabs 47 and 48 will project beyond the block and mayform a means of attachment to the mortar or even to wood or compositionwall constructions.

It will be noted the end tabs 47 and 43 have the side grooves or ridges49 and 50 which aid in the attachment. To illustrate how theseattachments may be made, in Figs. 6 and 7 there are shown the panels Hin which the strips 40 are imbedded, as indicated at J.

The openings 41 will aid in the attachment of the base structures 40 ofthe strips G in the blocks. It will be noted that the blocks have thedepending lips 60 which fit into the recesses 61 on the next lower blockto make a water-tight and weather-tight junction at K, where the tilestructures of Figs. 6 and 7 may form an exterior face of a building.

In the structure of Figs. 6 and 7 the wooden joists or beams L may forma means of attachment for the facing panels H with the nails 62 driventhrough the. openings 63 serving to attach the upper end of each panelor plate H to the wooden members L.

The lower tabs or lips 48 serve to fit over and engage 4 the upwardlyprojecting back edge 64 of each plate or panel.

In Figs. 6 and 7, if desired the tabs 47 and 48-may be bent directlyinwardly without the bends at 45 and 46 and inserted directly into themortar joints between bricks or cinder blocks, and thus achieve acontinuous facing over the entire wall whether it be of brick or cinderblock.

However, an important feature of the system of Figs. 6 to 8 is that thefacing tiles in themselves may constitute a waterproof, weatherproofwall construction without necessarily providing a base brick wall orcinder block wall.

In the embodiment of Fig. 9 the two wall elements 65 and 66 may bemounted upon and attached to the T-shaped bracket M. This T-shapedbracket may have the flanges 70 and 71 from the'central double-thicknessfolded piece 72. The openings 73 and 74 enable lodgment in the actualplastic or ceramic material, whereas the openings 75 and 76 may alsoserve as nail connections.

Although the bracket is shown attached without actu ally being imbeddedin the tiles 65 and 66, it is to be understood that it also may beactually cast into a cast or molded plastic or ceramic facing tile.

It is thus apparent that the applicant has provided a novel plastic orfacing tile which may serve in itself as an exterior wall construction,mounted upon wooden joists or other structure members, and whichinvention has provided a particularly valuable method of facing cinderblock or brick walls with ornamental tiles or decorative facings withoutsubstantially increased costs, and with the tiles being applied as thewall is constructed, with assurance that a weatherproof and waterprooffacing will be achieved.

While there has herein been illustrated and described the preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that applicant doesnot limit himself to the precise construction herein disclosed, and theright is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within thescope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

If desired, the material of the tile itself may be formed to give theinsertion tabs D and E and enable them to be inserted in the mortarjoints between the bricks or blocks.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of theinvention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what isclaimed is:

A wall facing tile consisting of a molded rectangular slab and a metalframe incorporated in said slab, said metal frame consisting of flatmetal strips extending laterally of said slab and a fiat metal stripextending longitudinally of said slab, each of said metal strips havingspaced keying openings and integral, rigid attachment prongs, arcuate incross-section and in substantially parallel relation, extending from asingle face of said slab, said prongs having integral tabs extendingoutwardly towards and substantially to the peripheral faces of said slaband said strips having integral tabs in substantial contact with a faceof said slab, said tabs positioning said strips within said slab.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS799,843 Fisher Sept. 19, 1905 813,548- Fisher Feb. 27, 1906 833,532Kuzmier Oct. 16, 1906 833,629 Price Oct. 16, 1906 882,482 Wilson Mar.17, 1908 1,487,578 Kirkpatrick Mar. 18, 1924 1,863,842 Grigsby June 21,1932 1,932,433 Worden Oct. 31, 1933 2,323,417 Pauli July 6, 1943

